Poor Schmaltz
Cast & Crew
Hugh Ford
Sam Bernard
Robert Broderick
Conway Tearle
Dick Bernard
Ruby Hoffman
Film Details
Synopsis
Hocheimer, a wealthy German brewer, insists that his daughter Louise marry a titled man, although she loves Jack, a plain American. When Herman Schmaltz, a poor wig maker and barber, reads about Hocheimer's wish and learns that Count Hugo Victor von Mimmeldorf has renounced his title to join an anarchist band, Schmaltz shaves to look like the count and is welcomed by Hocheimer. After Louise substitutes her cook for herself, and Schmaltz makes passionate love to the cook, Jack summons a policeman who throws Schmaltz out. Later, when the real count, who has been chosen to kill Hocheimer, plants a bomb in a living room chair, Anne, a fellow anarchist known as the "Queen of the Reds," saves Schmaltz from sitting on it. After Schmaltz prevents Louise from doing the same and throws the bomb out, the count challenges him to a duel, but Anne, who now loves Schmaltz, stops them. Hocheimer gives his consent for Louise to marry Jack, and Schmaltz returns to his shop with Anne as his wife.
Director
Hugh Ford
Cast
Sam Bernard
Robert Broderick
Conway Tearle
Dick Bernard
Ruby Hoffman
Leonore Thompson
Crew
Film Details
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
This was the first film of Sam Bernard, one of the top musical comedy character actors of his time. Bernard created the character of Schmaltz on stage in such shows as A Dangerous Maid (opening night 12 November 1898) and The Rollicking Girl (opening night 1 May 1905). In the film, Bernard reproduced some of the routines that he performed on stage. Items in the Paramount studio records state that Poor Schmaltz is based on the play A Dangerous Maid written by Sydney Rosenfield, but synopses of that play's plot bear no resemblance to the plot of the film. Paramount advanced the opening date of the film so that it would mark the end of their first year of programming. Some reviews list Bernard's character name as "Fritz Schmaltz," Robert Broderick's as "Herman Mocheimer," Dick Bernard as either "Count Hugo Victor von Himmolberg," "von Himmelburg" or "von Himmeldorf," and Leonore Thompson's as "Louise Mocheimer."
